Closeness Leads to Heartbreak
by Blithe Novelties
Summary: "Alice, can you hear me? Are you there? Alice?" Perhaps, it seemed, if he said her name, often enough, he could give her immunity, could will her safe return to Abel.


**AN: I apologize if anything is incorrect, as I have only done the first two missions of Zombies, Run!, though I plan to do more soon. **

**Zombies, Run! belongs to its rightful owners.**

ZR! Closeness Leads to Heartbreak:

"I'll go." Any murmuring occurring before this moment ceased; it was almost eerie, how everyone suddenly stopped talking so suddenly, their gazes darting around the room for the speaker, who, once finally was found by the endless sea of eyes, remained in their stares.

Evan, or, as he was to be called, Runner Seven, cleared his throat loudly, only gaining the attention of about half of the group."Runner Five, this mission is entirely too dangerous; it is much safer to lie in wait until the swarms die down, and send someone out then."

At any other time, if she had been off duty, Alice would have rolled her eyes and let loose a derisive snort before (jokingly) calling the other a "wuss." However, seeing the fact that she was not off duty, and that Evan was, at least for the time being, her "boss" (for lack of a better word), she merely cocked her head, eyebrows raised before posing a question, that for her, was a rather too important one to go undiscussed. "...What if the swarms don't die down?"

"...Excuse me?" Seven's own eyebrows raised, mirroring her expression.

"I said, what if the swarms _don't_ die down? What if they only get worse?"

The murmuring started up once more, this time, with an air of agreement instead of confusion.

Hands held high to silence the crowd, Runner Seven continued to address her, "While that may be the case, we certainly can't risk-"

"And you said it yourself, I'm one of the fastest runners in Abel. If anyone can get in the hospital, find the CDC case, and get out without being caught, I can." Confidence gleamed in the young woman's eyes, as well as a stubborn determination; Runner Five of Abel, Alice to her friends, would not take no, in any of its forms, for an answer.

For the longest time, Sam had sat in silence, too stunned for words. While he certainly knew how fast Alice was, how she could cleverly evade the zoms like no other runner, himself included, could this...this was absolute and total madness. Vaguely, he wondered why her name wasn't Hatter, because she was as mad as one to agree to this mission; a bitter laugh at his own joke caught in his throat. Yes, it was true that every mission had its dangers, and that they had lost runners to the zoms numerous times before, but none posed a threat as big as this one.

He doubted even Alice could make it back, much less him. _Please, please...if there really is an Almighty being up there, please...please don't let them send us out there...please..._

A sigh came from Runner Seven, the action showing all that he was surrendering to the younger runner's wishes, "Alright, Runner Five...you and Runner Fift-"

_"No!"_ The word erupted from his mouth before he could stop it; all turned their eyes towards Yao, whom, once realizing he not only had the attention of Runners Seven and Five, but of everyone, felt heat rise to his cheeks. "I...I mean," meekly, he tried to find a way to explain himself. "...it's...it's dangerous out there right now, Alice...you'll...you'll-"

"When isn't it dangerous, Sam?" she answered softly, a gentle smile curving at her lips.

"I...I..." _Good job, Sam. You made yourself look like a blasted fool in front of her._ "I know that, but-"

"If someone doesn't get the CDC case now, or at least some other supplies for our hospital, how is Abel supposed to go on? The situation is only growing worse by the second, so that someone needs to act now. And that someone is going to be me."

Throughout the small speech, he noticed that there were no mentionings of him, her partner; whenever Alice spoke of going out on a mission, she always spoke of them as a team. "...Just...just you?"

"Just me."

"Runner Five, you know we cannot allow you to go alo-" Seven attempted to protest, but, for the nth time during the meeting, he was cut off.

"And we, as a base, cannot allow ourselves to keep losing runners. If Sa-Runner Fifteen and I go together, we risk the two of us being caught. And what use is losing two runners, one of them who knows our radio transitions-who our friends on the outside are, how to communicate with them-better than anybody else, better than even Jack and Eugene? Sure, you could find someone else who can do it just as well, but that might take forever. See, if I go alone, and the zoms get me, you just lose a good runner-and there are always going to be faster runners than me out there. Sam can communicate with me from the Tower-that way, he's still a part of it, without being in danger."

"Alice..." This was madness. Absolute and utter madness. "...don't..."

"I'll be fine...I...I promise." But somehow, she didn't sound so sure.

**XxX**

"All right, the cost looks clear. Maybe you were right about this," Sam's voice came over Alice's headset.

"See?" she grinned. "I told you. There's nothing to worry about-I've got this one in the bag."

Her partner chuckled, "I guess I should have more confidence in you, huh?"

"Obviously, you should; you're not being a very good partner, Fifteen," Runner Five pretended to pout. "You're being awfully mean to me, not believing me or anything."

"Okay, okay, I get it," Sam's laughter continued, "I won't do it any more."

"Good...oh hey, wait, I think I see the case," Alice eased herself into a jog, nearing the object. "Might be to big to fit into my pack with all the other stuff thou-" she froze, her eyes growing big. _"Shit."_

"Alice...Alice, what's wr-" Oh. Not more than fifty paces behind his friend, heading straight for her, were twenty zombies; because of their lack of concentration, neither one of them had heard, nor seen them coming. "Runner Five, Runner Five," her "formal" name tumbled out. At the moment, Sam could hardly remember her real name; panic had overtaken his brain. "Can you hear me? Forget about the case, and get out of there!"

All at once she unfroze, her legs carrying her...straight for the case.

"Alice, get out of there!" It was a desperate plea, one Sam didn't think that she would follow, no matter the number of times he repeated it.

She was almost there, her slender fingers just barely grasping at the case, when more swarms, larger swarms of the infected creatures came at her from three other sides, surrounding her, trapping her.

_"Alice!"_ Sam cried out a final time, hoping that she would at least see that she still had a chance, albeit a small one, if she just abandoned the damn case.

"Sam-" Whatever she had wanted to tell him would forever remain unsaid; the transition was lost, both screen and headset filled with static.

"Alice, can you hear me? Are you there? Alice?" Perhaps, it seemed, if he said her name often enough, he could give her immunity, could will her safe return to Abel.

No change; not a word, nor breath, nor even a moan from one of the undead. A lump formed in his throat, eyes growing misty with tears that despite his best effort, he could not blink back.

"...Alice?" Still, no answer save the ever growing static. "If you can hear me, say something, _anything!"_ He ripped his headset off, and sent it flying into another screen, sending small crackles through it, forming a spiderweb. _"Alice!"_ He was about to lift up another piece of equipment-by this point, he could no longer tell what it was-when two people rushed in and restrained him.

"Sam," a voice similar to Eugene's came from his left. "Calm dow-"

_"No!_ You don't understand! Alice is in danger-she needs our help!" he struggled to free himself from their grasps.

"What the hell's going on in here?" a stern voice, that seemed to belong to Runner Seven came from the doorway. "Runner Fifteen, what the-what _happened_ to this place?"

"The man's gone mad," muttered a very Jack-sounding voice from his right. "Oi, Evan, go and get some morphine from Dr. Myers, if she has any; I don't think we can restrain him much longer."

He didn't hear the response, but he supposed that Seven had made one of his captors go with him, as he felt the grip on one side disappear, only to be regained once more as two sets of footsteps traveled out of the room.

"No, dammit-I'm not crazy...I'm not! Didn't you idiots hear anything I just said?! _Alice!_ Don't worry, Alice...I'll...I'll get to you, I'll save you-promise!"

"Sam, mate, she's _gone."_ Jack freed one hand, and began to pat his back as if the action would offer some comfort. "The zoms got her...I'm sorry..."

Sam, feeling his legs weaken beneath him, sank to the floor; he was trembling, "...No...she can't...she's the fastest runner in Abel, she can't be gone!"

"Was," Jack correct. "Was the fastest runner."

Neither said any more after that, Sam, trembling harder, small sobs coming from him every so often, in no state to speak, and Jack not really knowing what to say. A few more moments past, and three sets of footsteps, accompanied with three sets of lowered voices drew nearer to the two.

"This won't hurt a bit, Sam, I promise..." Maxine whispered as she slid the needle into the skin on his arm.

"Alice..." he whimpered, feeling the drug start to take affect.

It was too late, of course, for her to hear the words he was about to say (he, himself could barely hear anything any more), and even if she could, she wouldn't be able to comprehend them, to return the feeling, yet Sam couldn't help but say them anyway as he slipped into unconsciousness, "Alice...I...I love you..."


End file.
